My Duty is to My Heart
by MM1232
Summary: Madge was made of many attributes, courage, kindness, and intelligence. This was how she could prove it, to show that she wasn't just the mayor's daughter, but a strong young lady. She could bring honor to her family. A Gadge retelling of Mulan, loosely based on the Disney film.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The letter

A/N: Hey guys, if any of you have been reading my previous story, I'm sorry to inform you that I've taken it down. I hit severe writer's block. But if I ever get over it, I'll be sure to post it again. Anyway…here is my new story. I have recently become a HUGE Gadge fan, literally the second best Hunger Games pairing (Everlark is #1). I was watching Mulan a few days ago and got this idea. It has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. If you're also a fan then you get bonus points in life. I hope you enjoy.

-M

* * *

A loud resonating knock echoed through the halls of the Undersee manor. This particular circumstance was not uncommon in their lives. Madge's father was the mayor of District 12, one of the 13 districts that made up the country of Panem. Their family was usually visited by congressmen or citizens with complaints. What made this particular situation alien however, was the reason for which the visitor at the door had arrived.

Madge's father rose from the couch, where he had currently been listening to her play the piano for him and her mother. He made his way to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by a capitol official. He was dressed too formally for it to be a casual visit and had a large satchel hanging from his right shoulder.

"Can I help you?" Madge's father inquired.

"Good afternoon sir, I don't mean to be a disturbance, but I've been sent by the capitol to deliver an important message to every household." He took a breath, then pulled an envelope from his satchel. "Every household with a man 18 years old or older is required to send him off to a special military training in District 13. Problems with our surrounding countries are arising and we need to be prepared for a possible attack. Forming a military is the first order of business. This envelope is a formal written order for the Undersee family. The chosen man is requested at the Justice building for dismissal in one week."

Madge sat frozen at the seat of her piano. She was trying process the information that was currently racing through her head. A man of the household, but there wasn't anyone- oh, her father.

No.

He was too old.

He was too weak and worn down.

He wasn't strong enough to face a possible battle. Her frantic eyes met with her mother on the couch, who was equally shaken, before reaching her standing father's face. He was pale as he stared at the white envelope that the capitol man was handing to him. Despite her father's obvious fear, he didn't seem surprised, like he almost expected this. The man then nodded his head once, and turned to walk swiftly out the open gate of their front yard, and down the street, out of sight.

Her father closed the front door before he spoke. His words completely unrelated to what had just occurred.

"I'm going to go to bed early this evening, Maryanne? You coming?" he asked, his eyes still staring down the white paper, his tone dull of emotion.

Her mother stood up from the couch, and walked slowly towards her father. They headed up the stairs together, her mother wrapped around her father. Both of them neglected Madge as they made their way to their room.

Madge remained at the piano, her heart racing. Her body was cold with fear. Her legs shook as she got up to make her way to her own bed.

* * *

Madge laid in deep thought the next morning. She thought about Panem, she knew that it was having trouble maintaining the treaties with the nine other remaining countries. She just didn't think that the capitol would pull such a drastic act. She wondered if capitol citizens were required to follow the same rules. If their sons would be sent off to training, and then into battle, just like her father.

After the third world war, the country of Panem was formed. Madge didn't know the major details, due to the fact that it had been over 300 years, and little documentation of the events were kept. Panem was a large country, but not highly populated. It was split into 13 districts. It was very separate from the rest of the world. After the Great War, many countries had been destroyed, and the remaining few dispersed themselves throughout the globe.

She got out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. She saw her father sitting at the table. His routine had already begun with him reading the daily newspaper. The only differences were the darker than usual circles under his eyes, signs of a sleepless night.

His purposeful avoidance and silence irked her.

"It's not fair daddy." She admitted as she sat down across from him.

Her words drew a reaction out of him as he sighed, pulled his glasses from his face and looked back at her. "I know, Madgie, I know." He glanced down and wiped his watery eyes before glancing back at his anxious daughter's eyes. "I don't want to leave you and your mother, but the capitol's rules are law, I don't have a choice. And maybe it won't be so bad, it's only military training, perhaps another war won't occur, if that's the case, I'll be safe." He rubbed his forehead, a clear sign that he was stressed.

Madge looked down in frustration. "We both know that's bull, I follow the news dad, I know what's happening, I just didn't expect this to be the solution."

"Watch your language," he disciplined. He chuckled quietly as he got up to head to his office, "You're too smart sometimes Madgie, too smart," he mumbled.

Madge was left alone in silence, her ears ringing.

* * *

The next few weeks passed devastatingly fast. It was the night before his father had to leave for training. Her family sat together in their living room, reading separately.

It was then that a brilliant plan struck Madge. She criticized herself for not thinking of it earlier. It was a dangerous thought, one that could possibly get her killed for her defiance. Madge could take her father's place. She was eighteen, the required age. She had relatively plain features and was not as curvaceous as other women. With the proper concealment, she could easily pass as a young man, or at least a boy who hadn't quite hit puberty yet.

"Mom, dad, I'm heading up to bed, I'll see you in the morning." She closed her book and made her way over to her parents on the other couch. "I love you." She said to both of them as she leaned down to give them both quick hugs.

"We love you too, so much," Her father replied. Her mother kissed her cheek then gave her a watery smile before Madge headed up to her room.

As soon as she reached the confines of her room, she ran over to her desk and searched though the drawers before finding what she was searching for. Scissors. She then walked to her bathroom and stood in front of the mirror.

"You're doing this for you father. Because you love him." She whispered with determination. Then she closed her eyes and cut her long and silky blond ponytail from her head. She sucked back her tears and fingered her short hair. "It _will_ grow back." But she already missed her golden locks, which were now laying on the floor surrounding her feet.

One last look told her that it needed to be shorter, so she trimmed back the uneven strands and clipped and cropped until all that was left was a messy pixy cut.

Close enough.

* * *

As soon as she woke, she snuck into her parent's room, careful not to wake them. When she reached her father's closet, she searched for his smallest plaid button down shirt as well as small pants. She grabbed them off their hangers and then rushed from the room, taking one last glance at her parent's sleeping forms over her shoulder.

After changing into her men's attire, she crept downstairs and into her father's office. She located the letter faster then she had expected and pocketed it. She would need it as proof for her deployment this morning. She left one of her hair ribbons in its place, so that they would know why she had left, and to not send out a search party.

She quickly slipped on her sneakers and ran out the front door. She didn't look back. She couldn't be tempted to change her mind. She was doing this for her parents. Her mother needed her father, and her father wasn't strong enough.

All the way to the justice building she reminded herself of this. Repeating her duty in her mind, telling herself that this was what she needed to do. As she reached the front doors, she stopped to muster all of her courage, then marched right in to meet the other new soldiers from district 12.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm not going to schedule my updates, so they'll come when they come. I will however try not to be too long getting them to you guys. Anyway, I hope you like it...Gale makes an appearance ;)

-M

Disclaimer: I do not own either the Hunger Games or Mulan. All rights go to Suzanne Collins and Walt Disney.

* * *

Madge sat with her head leaning against the cold hard glass of the train window. She was currently heading out of the only home she had ever known. District 12 passed behind her in a speedy blur as she gazed out at the unfamiliar land. She was already beginning to feel homesick. Despite her father being the Mayor, they had never been given the privilege or opportunity to explore outside of 12. She thought that it was horrible how the capitol people were so privileged, and the districts got next to nothing. They were the slaves, sent out to do the dirty work, like fighting in the battles.

She sighed as she snuck a peek at the young man sitting across from her. She knew that he was one of the baker's sons. His Mellark eyes were a dead giveaway. She couldn't remember his name. She knew that he had to be either the oldest or the middle one. The youngest son, Peeta, had been her friend back in school. She was glad that he wasn't chosen to represent hid family. As terrible as it was that anyone was chosen, she knew that Peeta had a higher chance of not making it back. He was always a kind and friendly boy, not the kind of personality traits that help you succeed in battle.

She discreetly looked at the rest of the passengers that shared her compartment. She had seen the majority of them around the district. She was more familiar with the ones that had originated from the town since she hadn't spent much time in the Seam, the less fortunate section of 12.

One of her only friends, Katniss Everdeen, had grown up in the seam. The only times that Madge had been down there were to visit with her.

Madge leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to feign sleep. It was probably among her best intentions to avoid conversation with these men. She was afraid that they would recognize her, or at least find her suspicious. She was the mayor's daughter after all, her face was well known among the district, just not in terms of popularity.

They arrived shortly at the train station in district 13. It was a quick ride, seeing as through district 12 was the closest to 13. At the sound of the whistle, Madge followed the men out of the train car and onto the platform. They gathered on the platform as more flooded out from the train, there had to be at least 100 men in total from the district 12 train.

Despite the vast amount of people gathered around her, one look at district 13 indicated to her just how alone she really was. Her eyes widened in amazement as she took in her surroundings. District 13 was huge. It wasn't large in the sense that the buildings were tall, it was quite the contrary. Madge had known that the majority of the district was underground. It was the span of the district that made her feel lost. The military fortress was spread out across the flat land for miles.

She heard another whistle blow and snapped her around at the sound. She had been gazing for too long. She quickly joined the rest of the district 12 crew from where she had wondered off. The man who blew the whistle appeared strong and sturdy before them. His dark skin was a noticeable contrast to the pale townies and olive skinned seam folk gathered around him.

"Alright men. Listen up. My name is Boggs, and I am the head of this entire training base." He gestured to the large amount of district property. "We will be splitting up all the men coming in from every district into separate groups for training. These groups will be based on size and ability."

Boggs paced back and forth with even strides, staring into the eyes of every man and silently daring them to act out. When his eyes met hers, they narrowed slightly. She sucked in a breath. He knew. She was done for. Oh god this was such a stupid idea in the first place.

But then his eyes slid passed hers in a matter of seconds and her terror was forgotten. She let out the breath she forgot she was holding. "We will be holding a fitness test this afternoon. As of now, since you have no belonging with you, you will be issued two sets of uniforms and then lead directly to a temporary housing unit until you have been placed among a group. Is this clear?"

"Yes sir." Echoed the men. Madge was terrified. A fitness test? She was sure to be placed in the lowest group. She didn't have any talents that stood out in terms of strength. She wasn't the smallest 'man' there, due to her height of 5'9, but she was one of the leanest and rather skinniest.

* * *

After they were given their sets of uniforms and temporary rooms, they were instructed to change. Unfortunately, they didn't each get their own rooms. Madge was paired with some guy from 12 who was obviously from the seam, that she had never met before, but she still kept her head down.

Madge changed in the bathroom despite the laugh that it received from her new roommate. "Afraid to change in front of me little boy? I won't bite." Then he cackled at his own pointless humor.

like bandages that she stole from home. Even though her chest wasn't as large as most women, she thought it was best to conceal as much bust as possible. When she finished getting dressed into the plain grey army uniform, she went searching for the gym that they would be testing in. She should have realized that it would be so hard to find in a place this large. She wondered if they had any maps around here. They probably should, or at least invest in a proper tour guide. She was just about to ask for directions when she ran into something hard and tall. Probably a pole, it wouldn't be the first time that her clumsiness shone through.

Back in 12, Madge was constantly running into things or tripping over small objects. She blamed it on her height. She wasn't a giant, but her above-average height made it hard for her to see her feet and whatever was surrounding them.

However, as she looked up, it wasn't rough cement that met her eyes, but a tall, brooding man's pale and striking grey eyes. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest and her face flamed. He had to be at least half a foot taller than her, his lean and toned frame loomed over her.

"I..um..sorry, I guess I was being a little clumsy," she stuttered out squeakily. She quickly recognized her error and tried to cover it up in a deep manly voice this time. "But hey! You were being stupid by running into me too!" She belted out and puffed out her chest. He only glared back at her in response. He didn't seem like the friendly type. She then took in his obvious official uniform, he must be a trainer. Which was surprising, seeing as though he only looked a few years older than herself. Madge wasn't normally the swooning type, but this man's rippling muscles and strong biceps made her pause.

He stood there and scowled at her, arms folding across his chest. "Are you just gonna stare dude, or get a move on to testing?"

She blushed again. "Oh. Um yeah. See ya there…dude." Then she took off in the farthest direction away from him. All her previous thoughts on swooning over him forgotten. _God what and embarrassment. He probably saw right through her. She shouldn't have done that stupid deep voic-._

"Hey," he called out, interrupting her inner frustration, "The fitness room is that way." He said, an arrogant smirk on his face and his thumb jabbed back in the complete opposite direction of wherever it was she was headed.

She wondered if she could set a record for number of blushes in three minutes. Only this time, it was out of frustration.

She let out a muttered 'thanks', speed-walking in the direction of his pointed finger. She still didn't know exactly where the testing room was, so she followed the groups of men that were hopefully making their way to the gym. _What a jerk,_ she thought. The handsome man she ran into minutes ago was still weighing heavily on her mind. God, he must be so full of himself. It's a shame he had to be so damn attractive.

Pull yourself together Madge! Attractive? God, what was she thinking? She didn't have time for this. She was pretending to be a man for crying out loud! It's not like she could act on her feelings. Which she kept telling herself she _didn't_ have. She just needed to clear her head. Hopefully the testing would get her mind off of that arrogant prick.

* * *

The gym was crowded, and gigantic, like everything else in this district. It had to have been the size of at least 16 of her high school's gyms put together, and filled with over a thousand men. Thinking of high school brought a sour look to her face. Not exactly the golden time for her. She was glad that she graduated and that phase of her life was over. When she gets back to twelve, she'll probably go into office as a potential candidate for mayor. There really isn't anything else for her to do.

Well, _if_ she gets back anyway. That thought stops her in cold blood. She needs to remember that she gave up a future for herself when she decided to save her father. She may not come back alive, but in a wooden box. She needs to stop dreaming instead of focusing.

A loud horn blows over a set of loudspeakers. There are large screens set up all over the gym so that the men in the back can see Boggs as he makes his way to a stage located in the middle. He speaks into a microphone as he describes the events.

"Alright men, we'll be working in rotations of stations to test your strength and agility. Station 1!" he shouted, "Is to test your speed, you will run a certain distance as a designated overseer times you. Station 2! We will be monitoring how many repetitions of 50 pound weights you can do. This is the easy stuff by the way. So don't get too used to it."

It was going to be worse? God, she didn't even think she could do three repetitions. She had never had to lift much of anything before in her life. She occasionally swam I her backyard pool, so hopefully her arms strength was at least acceptable.

"Station 3 is…." Boggs droned on has he continued to explain the 15 other stations that would need to be completed. Madge was almost ready to throw up just thinking about it. She decided that to start out, she should go find the least crowded station and get it over with. Madge knew that she was definitely not going to stand out for her strength in any of these stations, but she hoped that she wouldn't be noticed because of her weakness.

The first station was a muscular endurance test in which she had to climb a rope up attached to the ceiling as high as she could, and then come back down. She was being timed. Thankfully, she had done something like this before in PE. She at least knew how to get onto the rope. As she made her way to the rope she ignored the stares of the other men that waited behind her for their turn. She needed to tune them all out if she was going to do this.

As she made her way to the front of the line, the overseer asked for her name.

"Mad-" "Mark Undersee" She fumbled. She almost let her real name slip. That would have been suspicious. Seeing as though 'Madge' wasn't usually a boy's name.

Her hands encircled the rope and she grasped it tightly as she hoisted herself up. Damn this was harder than she thought it would be. Her arm muscles were already straining as she pulled herself up the rope as quickly as she could. She put her legs into it as well, soon realizing that she probably looked like a little worm inching her way up. She started sweating and she heard the men below her laughing at her feeble manner of mobility.

"It's already been a minute Mr. _princess_, you gonna give up soon?" A snarky blonde man below had made the comment. His stupid followers were laughing along as if what he has said was genius. Madge snorted to herself as she continued to hoist herself up with difficulty. He clearly was all looks and no brains.

Madge had been used to insults her whole life. From the capitol citizens brutal tormenting to the bullying that came with being the mayor's daughter. Her family loved her, and even though the comments hurt, she knew that she would always be loved by _someone_. This knowledge had always made her feel stronger.

Madge was drawn out of her thoughts as she suddenly hit her head. It was the ceiling. She had run out of rope. The laughs aimed at her continued from down below. But she had made it! Wow, she didn't expect to actually get so high. But quickly, anxiety hit her chest as she realized that the problem now, was getting back down.

She gripped the rope tightly with her two feet as she slowly descended down the rope with her arms. She maneuvered herself down less than expertly but at least she reached the ground safely.

"Mark Undersee: Six minutes!" The overseer yelled out. Her score was then replicated on a screen directly above the stations. A permanent mark of her efforts. She was feeling pretty good about herself until the blond boy came up behind her and whispered in her ear.

"I've been trainging for this back in my district, and my best score was one minute and 43 seconds." He chuckled which lead a very uncomfortable shiver down her spine.

He stepped away from behind her and crossed over to her front. His cold blue eyes seared into hers before he then turned to face the overseer, and called out his name, "Cato Billings!"

* * *

She made it through the rest of the stations with similar results. She was embarrassingly terrible at the gun firing range. Her inability to hold the gun correctly made her aim terrible. She was also horrible at weight lifting and her overseer let it be known to her.

"God, you lift like a girl," He smirked, His bronze hair and crooked smile mocked her as she dropped the weight on her chest _again_ during reps. She wanted to scream out that she _was_ a girl. But that would be pointless, seeing as it would get her killed. All the other men laughed along with the obvious peacock of a man at her feeble attempts. She literally came so close to smacking them all in the head with her 50 pound weight.

She finished up testing at the crunches station, she was able to complete 46 crunches in one minute. It was a passible result.

Some of the other stations that she had done were sprints, spear throws (she was kind of decent at that), hand eye coordination testing, and an agility course.

A few of the stations were simple ones. They only had to determine your weight, height, and your current state of health.

She told herself that it was a good thing that she didn't run into tall, dark, and handsome from earlier.

* * *

When all her testing was complete, her whole body was aching and lethargic. She passed on the idea of dinner, instead deciding to go straight on back to her room. She planned to wash off all of her shame from today and jump right into bed.

It turned out that her roommate had other plans for her. The shower was currently in use, and by the sound of the female moans, she guessed that her obviously disturbed roommate had already decided to hit on the military nurses.

Disgusted, she collapsed into bed with a pillow wrapped tightly around her head. She fell asleep to the dreadful feeling of seeing her placement results tomorrow.


End file.
